Carbs

The world will open up and swallow you whole!
Of course I'm kidding. Use the personal trainer for exercise. Eat what you want so you'll stick to your 1600 calories. Nothing will work if you can't stick to it.

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

He says I need a low carb, high protein diet to burn off fat and build my muscle. Sticking to 1600 is VERY achievable for me, I also eat balanced foods - lots of fruit and veg, fish, chicken etc. But the very low carb just seems a bit 'much' at this point.

So it's too much, don't utilize that part of the advice. Trainers give advice, not godly revelations.
Making sure you're getting enough protein will help keep the muscles you have, but eating at a deficit won't build muscle either (something I learned on MFP) If you're burning the building blocks, you can't build something. You can lose fat around the muscle so they look more defined, but you won't be building muscle.

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

I'm relieved, thank you! That strict amount of carbs doesn't seem at all sustainable for me. I've just come off a restrictive diet and I'm educating myself to eat healthy again (I ate 1200 calories a day to lose weight and I was becoming exhausted so upped to the 'right' amount to lose safely). It just seems there is constant restrictions! I'm more than happy to eat a deficit and include more protein but all this restricting at this point (a healthy weight just wanting to get rid of some wobble) seems OTT! Thank you so much for your advice. Just been hearing horror stories about 'going over carb allowance causes bloated and wobbly stomach"!

My personal experience: I have lost 35 pounds and am now maintaining with about 60% of my calories coming from carbohydrates and I am perfectly happy with my stomach.

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

I'm relieved, thank you! That strict amount of carbs doesn't seem at all sustainable for me. I've just come off a restrictive diet and I'm educating myself to eat healthy again (I ate 1200 calories a day to lose weight and I was becoming exhausted so upped to the 'right' amount to lose safely). It just seems there is constant restrictions! I'm more than happy to eat a deficit and include more protein but all this restricting at this point (a healthy weight just wanting to get rid of some wobble) seems OTT! Thank you so much for your advice. Just been hearing horror stories about 'going over carb allowance causes bloated and wobbly stomach"!

You will hear this about any diet someone brings up. A lot of which is in someones own head.


Some of the most lean individuals on this forum have rather large carb numbers. Overall, like others have said, the calorie deficit will determine weight loss, protein and progressive lifting will aid in muscle retention, fat help regulate hormones and improves satiety, and carbs provide energy.

Side note, some people don't do well on low carb diets. I am one of those. I cannot go below 200g or my workouts go down the crapper. In fact, you may actually see an increase in performance with an increase in carbs.

And while I am not advocating a diet with nothing but carbs, your concentration is better spent on 1. calories (using a food scale to be accurate), 2. protein (.8-1g of protein per lb of lean body mass) and 3. getting a variety of foods to ensure you are maximizing nutrient intake.

I'm not on a low carb diet but tend to natural eat less of them as their calories spend seems to be higher. I tend to switched them out and eat high protein low calories as I find them more fulling. Also with the level of exercise I do I seek out protein to help my muscles repair and rebuild.

PinkPixiexox wrote: »

I'm trying to get lean. I have lost 25lbs but still have quite a bit of fat left to lose. He put it like this "By following this plan, you will get your results" - but I think I will work that around what feels right for me. I will certainly be mindful of carbs but I think the 50g stop on daily carbs is crazy for me. I really appreciate your intelligent advice. I'm very new to doing things 'properly' as such so I'm really glad this has been cleared up.

Yes. Do what feels right for you. Good luck.

I'd give a fair bit of side eye to a PT suggesting you go on a low carb diet and that you 'need' it for fat loss. Are you at a gym with multiple trainers? I'd suggest giving a few PTs a trial and seeing which one suits you best as this trainer seems a bit meh.

That is enough protien for a 145lb serious athelete (think pro football who lifts, or a world strong man competitor), or a 180lb muscle building person, or a 363lb average person.

The recommended guidelines range from 0.8g/kg to 2g/kg. 1g/lb is 2.2g/kg. Most people replace kg with lb and ignorantly increase protein intake by 2.2x because they don't reduce the number when they change the scale.

You could probably go with 1.6g/kg (more than I get now, despite dropping 20lb and gaining strength) and use some of those calories for carbs. That would come out to something like 96g protein, 62g fat, and 164g carbs.

62g fat because the upper recommended fat intake is 35% according to the USDA. 164g of carbs would be considered low carb, as it is only 40% of your caloric intake. It just isn't paleo low.

You could tweak that a bit if it makes you happier

Unless you have insulin related problems, carbs aren't the enemy. I have insulin resistance and my nutritionist told me I have to control my carbs, but I eat 175gr a day, a lot more than you, and I'm still losing weigh because it about calories, not carbs.

However, if you really want to eat the 50 gr, my suggestion is to concentrate most in you lunch, so that you can prepare easier things....

You don't need to limit carbs to lose fat. I eat under 20 grams of carbs a day, but it is by no means necessary. Work out with your trainer, but eat what you like in a deficit.